Skip to main content

Andolanjivi: Modi's new term meant as 'fodder' to attack protesters, dissenters

By Our Representative 
Commenting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement in the Rajya Sabha allegedly seeking to “denigrate” protesters and activists by calling them “andolanjivi” (those living on campaigns), Delhi-based human rights organisation Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (Anhad) has said, this suggests, earlier nomenclatures invented to attack dissenting voices – sickularist, urban Naxals, anti- national, deshdrohis, tukde-tukde gang, Khan Market gang, terrorists, Khalistani etc. – are failing to be effective any more.
Signed by Anhad founder Shabnam Hashmi, the statement says, not only has the troll army “gone all out trending #andolanjivi and attacking social activists”, the new word has given fodder to the “screeching anchors” of the pro-government media (“godi media”) and supporters (“bhakts”), who were apparently in search of a new, catchy slogan.
Pointing out that “there would have been no independence if there were no andolankaris (not andolanjivis)”, Anhad said, “The andolankaris of India have fought for a society which is just, equal, plural and diverse”, as against the Sangh brand of campaigners who “spread hatred and mayhem in this country” starting with “Advani’s Rath Yatra in 1990 to Modi’s Gaurav Yatra in Gujarat post-2002 carnage.”
Anhad’s statement sought to remind Modi, “Mahatma Gandhi fought against discrimination of Indians in South Africa, against untouchability in India, fought for the farmers’ rights in Champaran, for women’s rights, and against the British government”, adding, he also “led the Non-Cooperation Movement, the Civil-Disobedience Movement , the Quit India movement.”
Further asserting that Dr BR Ambedkar led movements for the annihilation of caste, Anhad said, “Dr Ambedkar addressed a Peasants’ Conference, addressed a historic conference of railway workers, opposed the creation of a separate state of Karnataka, spoke on Industrial Disputes Bill because it took away the worker’s right to strike, and he fought for minority rights.”
Stating that Modi’s “major problem is that those who stand for a secular India do not participate in divisive movements led by the Sangh”, Anhad said, “Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Bhagat Singh, Subhsh Chandra Bose, Maulana Azad and hundreds of other andolankaris of yesteryears as well as those of contemporary India lead their own struggles and participate in movements led by others who fight for the same idea of India which is plural, just, secular and diverse.”
Taking exception to Modi’s call to “identify” the protesters and activists to save the nation from them, Anhad added, whenever such phrases are coined they are “backed by organized physical attack” by non-state goons on protesters and activists “who have disagreed with the present government.”

Comments

Anonymous said…
he has a loyal audience who will lap up anything

TRENDING

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha*  The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza*  An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000. 

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas*  Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist  Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024. 

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco*  Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

'Pro-corporate agenda': Odisha crackdown on tribal slum dwellers fighting for land rights

By Our Representative  The civil rights network Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), even as condemning what it calls “brutal repression” on the Adivasi slum dwellers of Salia Sahi in Bhubaneshwar by the Odisha police, has said that the crackdown was against the tribals struggling for land rights in order to “stop the attempts at land-grab by the government.”

Deplorable, influential sections 'still believe' burning coal is essential indefinitely

By Shankar Sharma*  Some of the recent developments in the power sector, as some  recent news items show, should be of massive relevance/ interest to our policy makers in India. Assuming that our authorities are officially mandated/ committed to maintain a holistic approach to the overall welfare of all sections of our society, including the flora, fauna and general environment, these developments/ experiences from different parts of the globe should be clear pointers to the sustainable energy pathways for our people.

Hazrat Aisha’s age was 16, not 6: 'Weak' Hadith responsible for controversy

Sacred chamber where Prophet and Aisha used to live By Dr Mike Ghouse* Muslims must take the responsibility to end the age-old controversy about Hazrat Aisha’s age at the time of her marriage to the Prophet (pbuh) – it was 16, not 6 (minimum was 16, Max 23 per different calculations). The Hadiths published were in good faith, but no one ever checked their authenticity, and they kept passing on from scholar to scholar and book to book.  Thanks to 9/11, Muslims have started questioning and correcting the Hadiths, Seerah, and mistranslations of the Quran. Now, the Ulema have to issue an opinion, also known as Fatwa, to end it and remove those Hadith entries. Mustafa Akyol, a scholar of Islam, implores Muslims to stop deifying “the received traditions” and critically study their religious past, shedding rigid legalism and close-mindedness. Someone else used the phrase “copycat Muslims” to identify scholars who copied what was given to them and passed it on without researching or questioni